Category: Reporting

Apparently I took a completely unscheduled hiatus from blogging and now all of a sudden, it’s November.

I never really meant to stop blogging for all this time. Life just got away from me there for a while. If you’re just dying for a not-so-short-but-still-sweet recap of what’s been going on with me for the last 3 months, buckle up… you’re in for a bumpy ride.

I last left off leaving for Paris. It was incredible. I spent the first few minutes of my 24th birthday on the top of the lit up Eiffel Tower and it was nothing short of spectacular. Keesa, Matt, Justin and I spent the rest of the day lounging out front of the Eiffel tower with two bottles of wine before getting on a plane back to London.

Happy 24th Birthday to me! The Eiffel Tower was my present but I couldn’t fit it on the plane home. Darn.

Fast forward a few days…the London2012 Olympics were beginning, I was knee deep in school and internship work and life was surreal. Though stressed, I was happiest than I had been in months, partly due to completely unrelated circumstances that I will get to in a bit.

So the Olympics… yes, well, let’s just say I’ll never be able to watch them from my couch again. Yes, I will be finding a way to get to Rio in 2016, hopefully by then I’ll be an Olympic correspondent for… something… anything. Just get me to Rio.

Yes, that is Ryan Lochte and yes, I was that close to him. We chatted… Let’s just say its a good thing he’s an Olympic athlete cause the kid’s got rocks in his head.

So let’s back up a bit… before leaving for London I was pretty much a miserable wreck. Long story short, my boyfriend of a very long time broke up with me. I was blindsided, devastated and, in the midst of the worst and hardest semester of my entire life, fell completely apart. I considered dropping out of school, I considered giving up London, I considered being a moping, miserable person for the rest of my life. And for a few months, I was. But I stayed in school and committed to London because let’s be real here… what was the point of throwing away the $60,000 I had already spent on my grad program and the trip of a lifetime? There wasn’t.

I buried myself in my school work, dance and being with people who really did love me. I cried every day, multiple times a day for weeks. I listened to sad music, ran a lot of lonely miles and talked to anyone who would listen. I didn’t believe it when people told me that life would get better, that there was someone out there who would love me unconditionally, someone who I was supposed to be with. This was in March.

My BU friends took the brunt of the emotional roller coaster simply because I saw them every. single. day.

This dinner was for cheering me up. I also carbo-loaded for my 10K the next day. It was awesome.

A few months went by and soon, I wasn’t crying anymore… or at least not as much. I finished my semester with one of the highest GPAs of my entire academic career and was now looking ahead to the summer. London: getting away, doing everything for myself, letting nothing hold me back. And I was scared as all hell to go away for 2 months so that pretty much trumped all other emotions at the time.

This is how I get good grades. No, but really.And Keesa was one of my roommates in London. Best matchup ever.

June rolled around and soon, I was mere days from leaving. But before I hopped on a plane to Europe for the summer, my family and I went to the wedding of two of my very good childhood friends. Together for 7 years, throughout high school and college, they got married in our church and had a beautiful reception on the water in Nahant. Though slightly emotional, it was one of the best nights I had in a very long time.

Aren’t they the cutest?Photo courtesy of Sarah’s Facebook….

I even met someone… but more about him another time.

Spoiler alert: This is where the previously mentioned “happy, unrelated circumstances” comes into play.

He seems nice…

Three days later, I boarded my plane, took off to London and went to the Olympics.

The End..

Kidding.

Is that the end of the story? Hardly. Let’s just say I not only got to go to the Olympics this summer, but I also got to know someone very special from 3,000 miles away. But I’ll leave it there for now.

I can’t believe it’s been 12 days since my last post!! I’m currently working on one encompassing everything I’ve been up to since July 6th, but at the moment, I’m slightly preoccupied…

Tomorrow morning, at 3:20am, a bus will take me, Justin, Keesa and Matt to Luton airport. I don’t know about you, but I only know what 3:20am looks like because I’m usually up on Skype or g-chat until 4am… But to actually have to be a functioning human being who is traveling to another country, I should probably take a nap or go to bed super early or something.

Not likely.

We’ll be spending the next 4 days in the beautiful city of Paris. Think of it as a mini vacation in the midst of my program here. We had spent the past 2ish weeks taking a special topics class on the Olympics, took our final this morning (aced it) and I have one package already done that should be posted on boston.com sometime next week. We’ll be going nonstop for the 3 weeks after Paris in full-blown internship mode so after already being here for a little over 3 weeks, a getaway to France is more than perfect.

The last time I visited Paris, I was 9, and as much fun as I’m sure I had there being hauled around by Len & Shirl, I am bouncing-out-of-my-chair excited to get to experience it again in a different way. The four of us are even considering a day trip to Versailles on Saturday.

And the best part? It’ll be my birthday while I’m there… Oh hey, how did you spend your 24th birthday? In Paris… no big deal.

So the next time you see me, I’ll be a little older, probably none the wiser and hopefully full of good French wine. Always gotta have wine..

I moved into my flat on Monday after a weeklong vacation with my family. Courtfield Gardens is a mere 25 minutes away via tube and I quickly settled into my 3-bed room with two roomies, our own bathroom and an accessible kitchen.

It’s a lot bigger than it looks and I love it.

On Tuesday, my special topics class on the Olympics started. Three hours a day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and our schedule looks a little something like this:

3 weeks of class + 3 weeks of internship = 6 fast weeks

Essentially, I’m putting together a presentation about Women and the Olympics, shooting and editing a ton of video and stills, and have my first few weekends free to travel Europe and explore all that London has to offer.

Instead of sleeping after class, because let’s be real here…. I’m hardly doing any of that for one reason or another… I decided to go down to a local dance studio for an advanced contemporary class.

Not only were both the class and the instructor amazing (I was drenched in sweat within the first five minutes and could hardly move the next day), it had a familiar name making me feel right at home.

A little piece of my DanceWorks family here in London ❤

DanceWorks London… who knew?

When I got back from the class, my friends were ready to get a drink and check out some of the local nightlife. We decided on the Courtfield Pub about 10 minutes from our place.

Me and Keesa!

The only boys in the program… they have it made.

On Wednesday, our group made the journey on the tube to West Ham to take an Olympic walking tour.

This is Pepe, our tour guide. He really enjoyed his stories but we learned a ton.

We walked for about 2 hours, learning about everything from past Olympics to how and why London was chosen over Paris for the 2012 Summer Games. Apparently everyone thought that Paris would get it over London, including all of England, and when it was announced that Paris lost, the French didn’t take it so well. Go figure.

To see the Games, get off at the Stratford tube station and go straight to the park. You’re welcome.

For now, the area surrounding the Olympic Park is still pretty accessible but within the next few weeks, security will tighten and getting anywhere near the entrance will be impossible without tickets or the highest security clearance.

This way to ultimate sporting glory…

See?

Big fence, very legit.

This is the viewing tower and the main Olympic arena…

Doesn’t get more badass than that.

Since it was the 4th of July on Wednesday, there was no way that we were going to not celebrate, despite the fact that we’re in England. If anything, the irony made it that much better. We got ready, had a drink or two, and found a bar in Covent Gardens called Roadhouse that we heard would be full of other Americans we could party with. It was.. and we had a blast.

Future journalists of America celebrating America.

Sometimes we let Justin think he has game…

Just kidding, Justin. We love you!

Matt decided to bring the American flag along for the ride.

AMURICA.

It was, by far, the best 4th of July I’ve ever had.

Despite staying awake until an ungodly hour, we decided to dedicate the next day to being as touristy as possible. Our solution? The Tower of London.

Torture chambers, the Crown Jewels. Classic England.

Before going inside the fortress, we checked out the Tower Bridge, beautifully adorned with the Olympic Rings.

Breathtaking right?

Within the walls of the Tower of London, we joined a guided tour with a Beefeater. I think we got the best one the Tower has because we learned a ton and laughed the entire way though. He was informative, clever and knew how to keep the audience engaged. A+ Mr. Beefeater.

Let’s be friends.

We saw the Crown Jewels, took a tour through the Torture Towers and checked out the Royal Artilleries.

The White Tower… home of devices like “The Rack”.

Sometimes Matt likes to play with ancient weapons.

That is focus.

Today included things like a gym session with Justin (who made me run a 7:30 mile to the gym and I thought I was going to die), shopping on Oxford Street (oh Primark…), a much-need 2 hour nap, froyo, wine and Despicable Me…. a terrific way to end one of the busiest weeks ever.

I want to know… How are things in the States? I heard it’s super hot in Boston! What else should I check out in London and what would YOU like to see in a London-themed giveaway here on the blog?

In 8 days, I will be on a plane headed for one of my favorite places in the entire world: London, England.

But before we talk about why, let’s back up to a little over a year ago.

When I was looking at graduate schools, BU was at the top of my (very short) list. After bombing my GREs and writing what I thought were less-than-stellar essays, I sent my applications away and hoped for the best. The day my acceptance letter from BU came, I screamed so loud I almost sent my then-pregnant friend Miriah into early labor… I was just that excited.

When I went to BU’s accepted student’s day, one of the professors told us about an opportunity to study abroad in London covering the 2012 Summer Olympics. After already falling in love with the school, the possibility of spending a summer in one of my favorite cities sealed the deal. In October, I applied for the program, found out I got in and happily sent in my $500 deposit without a second thought.

Do we look happy? Of course we do.. we’re going to the Olympics!

Fast forward 6 months….

Going through the break-up with Stephen made London a distant nightmare. No, I don’t want to spend 6 weeks in England, I want to stay here and fix my relationship and rebuild my life. I came mere inches from dropping out of the program, only sticking with it due to the fact that giving it up might be the stupidest thing I’d ever do. Reject an opportunity like this to be a miserable wreck all summer long? Take a minute and rethink that decision…

The program, appropriately titled “Covering the London Olympics”, consists of 6 weeks in England – 3 weeks dedicated to a special topics class Monday through Wednesday and then 3 weeks of full-time internships with a local media outlet. I was assigned boston.com and could not be happier. With a group of 3 other girls, we will be producing our own website linked to boston.com and I will provide news packages and video content from on-site in London. Not too bad right?

Why I’m excited… in list form:

– London is one of my favorite cities in the world. I’ve been twice and if I could live in any other country, England soars to the top of the list. Italy is a close second.

– I’m spending the first week there with my family. My dad’s itinerary already includes places like Bath, Stonehenge, Windsor and Oxford. My sister wants to do a pub crawl with my parents. It’s going to be an interesting week.

– Harrod’s. The most amazing department store in the world. I don’t even know if calling it a “department store” is really a fair way to describe it since it takes up an entire city block, including a basement level, and takes an entire day to get through. The wine cellar alone makes me want to move in.

– I plan on traveling to other places while in Europe. The top two locations? Paris and Rome. I’ve been to Paris but the last time I was there, I was 9. I have this not-so-secret ambition to shoot a stand up in the grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower. I’ve never been to Italy but it’s where my family is from. I plan on tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain and wishing for the one thing I want more than anything else in this world. Sorry… can’t tell!

And in true Marie fashion, there are also reasons why I’m nervous…

– This will be the longest I’ve ever been away from home for an extended period of time. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself but I have a feeling that a bout or two of homesickness will hit me at some point. I’ve always been very much attached to my family and friends so leaving for 7ish weeks will be tough.

– I’m scared I won’t be able to work out. This is probably a stupid reason to be nervous since I’ll probably just suck it up and register for the gym while I’m there and run around the city, but what about dance?! Hope my roommates don’t mind some quality stretching and impromtu dance parties in our room…

– My personal life is still a little on the messy side. It’s not exactly ideal to peace out of the country while I feel this way but maybe the time away really will help…? Let’s just leave it at that.

– $$. London is expensive, I want to travel and my funds are tight. I guess I can sacrifice eating for souvenirs. Hope my aunt doesn’t mind me bringing my laundry to her place… to do one load there costs almost 30 bucks. I kid you not.

I think that’ll do for now.

So while I’m in London, my iPhone will be disabled other than it’s camera function (SAD!!!!) I will have internet and be updating the blog, hopefully more regularly than I have been lately. I promise to take a million pictures and post them while I’m away as well as tweets and links to my work. I love e-mails and Tweets and Facebook posts so don’t hesistate to send me any!

It was a long day. Thankfully today, we don’t have class because we had it last night instead. But that doesn’t mean I got to sleep in. Quite the opposite.

I didn’t actually end up rolling out of bed this morning until closer to 6:30. I had to meet the rest of the Unyted Stylz crew at the New England Aquarium at 7:30 for a show. I was nervous that I’d totally miss our call time so I left my apartment just after 6:45 to take the Green Line to Government Center and switch to the Blue. I met up with another crew member waiting for the blue line train and was happy that I wouldn’t get lost the rest of the way.

At the Aquarium, the host of the event was beyond thrilled to see us. When it was time for us to perform, I was pretty nervous since it was my first show with the crew since joining last month. Surprisingly, though, I wasn’t as Oh-My-God-I’m-Gunna-Throw-Up nervous as I normally am before performing. Either way, it was great and the crowd really liked us. And I looked pretty decent in the video we watched after so WIN.

Some of US Crew (with baby CJ!) at the Aquarium

When I got back to my apartment, I made some breakfast, watched Jenna Marbles (anyone else obsessed with this girl? Fun fact: She got her Master’s at BU like me) and tried to make myself look decent for the second time today before heading off to Cambridge to meet up with Alaina for the first time in person!

I’ve been reading Alaina’s blog for a while now and when we figured out we live super close to each other, we decided a blogger meet up/coffee date would be the way to go. Unfortunately, we are both incredibly busy so it’s actually taken months to finally take the time to do it!

We met up at 1369 Coffee House in Central Square, Cambridge just off the red line. I had never been there before and was excited to try it. I ordered a blood cider instead of coffee (who am I?) and it was delicious. Locally produced piping hot apple cider with a deeply aromatic tea steeped in. I also tried the cranberry-walnut muffin which was delicious. Alaina and I talked about anything and everything you could think of: our blogs, running, working out, living in Boston, school… It was great to get to know someone in person that you feel like you have known from reading their blog.

The rest of my day looked like this:

– YouTube videos.

– Nap.

– Oversleep from nap; frantically get ready; train to school.

– Anchor BU’s “Inside Boston”.

– Fro Yo (aka dinner) with a treat-obsessed dance friend.

– Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube.

And now I think I’ll sleep because I have an live guest coming tomorrow to interview on our class news magazine show and I should probably wash my hair and put make-up on in the morning.

How did you spend your Wednesday? Do you have to set three to five alarms to ensure you’ll wake up on time?